Queen Elizabeth to visit Pope Francis on April 3

The Queen is to make an historic visit to the Pope this year, where it is believed the meeting will be kept "informal" as she visits his boarding house rather than Apostolic Palace.

The Queen’s first overseas trip for three years will see her visit the Pope at the Vatican in a meeting likely to dispense with tradition.

The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has already met Pope Francis, the Pontiff known for his dislike of formal protocol.

It is claimed that rather than receive the Queen at the Papal state apartments, the Pope is likely to welcome her into his boarding house.

The visit will strengthen the link between the Anglican and Catholic churches and will be warmly welcomed by four million Roman Catholics.

The meeting is likely to be in stark contrast from the Queen’s visit to the Vatican in 1980 when she became the first British monarch to make a state visit there. She also became the first to welcome a Pope when John Paul II visited London in 1982.

The Pope has rooms at Domus Sactae Marthae, a five storey hostel run by nuns where he is often seen cooking his own pasta, or eating in the canteen. It is here that the pair are likely to have the historic meeting.

The Queen is expected to visit in April, shortly before her 88th birthday and after the Pope receives a visit from President Barack Obama.